SFGAm 8/6 8/7 (LONG)

CPLady

Friday, August 9, 2002 11:12 AM

Overall Impressions:

This was my first ever trip to a Six Flags park. I went in with a completely unbiased opinion. My husband's first impression was not a good one, though. There were probably 8 people in front of us at the entrance, and it took more than 15 minutes to get through due to the metal detectors and only one person checking bags/purses. I was prepared for this, but had forgotten to mention this little tidbit to him. After a few trips out to the car and back, he seemed to take it in stride.

The park gets high marks from me for the theming, shade (especially in the queue areas!), and overall landscaping. The park was not dirty by a long shot, the bathrooms were fairly clean, and the area around the reflection pond and double carousel was kept free of debris. Unfortunately, as the day progressed, I did notice more and more debris on the paths, and especially in the queues. Popcorn, chips, melted ice cream and lemon quarters were common in the queues by late afternoon. I guess that's why Cedar Point is especially strict about allowing food and drink into their queues, Most employees were friendly, and a few even took the time to chat with us, although the automated spiels pretty much prevented them from showing much personality.

The largest complaints we had were the tight fit for Gordon on most rides and the poor attempt at listing wait times. We expected Gordon might not fit on V2 or Deja Vu. He fits easily into Raptor and Power Tower at CP yet he was pretty much forced into Batman and the Giant Drop. Even Iron Wolf was a struggle. There were no ride ops at the entrance to queues, and wait times were listed as, in the case of Viper and Giant Drop "60 minutes from this point with a full queue". Excuse me, but you can't SEE the queue of the Giant Drop!! I much prefer CP's system which gives a fairly accurate wait time based on how full the queues are. My son and I were both disappointed that Deja Vu only ran for 5 hours and Shockwave was down both days.

The only souvenir we purchased was the picture they took of us on Wednesday morning.

Coasters: Rating from 1-10 with 10 being the highest mark.

Whizzer: Okay, this gets a 10 from both Gordon and I, if anything for the nostalgia factor because it reminded us both of CP's defunct Jumbo Jet. It was fast and lots of fun, and the wait on Tuesday evening was about 20 minutes. I also took a picture of the sign which indicated its demise, which I learned when we returned from the trip is no longer happening.

Raging Bull: Definitely a 10 from all of us. Ian and I rode Tuesday evening with a 45 minute wait, and Gordon and I rode 3 times using our fast lane passes. The seats are the most comfortable we've ever experienced on a coaster, especially for a large guy like Gordon. My first ride was in row 3, second ride was in row 6. But our last three rides were in what we considered the money seat, the back row. The airtime on the first drop was so huge it took us both by surprise the first time. We literally floated over every drop. I actually giggled through the entire ride, every single time.

American Eagle: We didn't ride the forward train because our first ride was in the backward facing train and Gordon was so impressed he didn't want to bother with the front. Once again, we agreed this coaster deserved a 10. It didn't have the roughness we expected from a woodie. The trains were racing which also added to the excitement. Our first ride was in the middle, our second was in the first row so we had an excellent view of the track as we traveled backwards. Lots of airtime, and going through the downward helix backwards was fun.

Iron Wolf: My rating for this one is 7. Why the heck did they paint this such an ugly color! This is one of the coasters that Gordon had trouble fitting into. The fit was especially snug on him, and the ride op made sure my OSTR was pretty snug against my chest. It was a fast and intense ride, but (thankfully) short. There was some headbanging, which we all expected, but I felt so squished that my chest hurt through the entire ride. Although Ian rode it several times over the 2 days, once was enough for Gordon and I.

Batman: I give this one an 8. As mentioned above, this was an especially tight fit for Gordon. the ride op had to push hard to get the seatbelt to lock. Other than that, although it was short, the speed and intensity were great, and the theming was well done. As Gordon put it, "this is how you get around trashy queues, make it look like it's SUPPOSED to be trashy". Ian rode several times, Gordon and I only once due to his problem fitting comfortably.

As a side note here, I was supposed to look for and say hi to Jeff, but since I'd left my notes in the car, I couldn't remember which ride op to look for. Sorry I didn't say hi. My son and his friends, on the other hand were goofing around in line, and somehow managed to get two of his friends kicked out of line. Afterwards, they felt bad and made it a point to compliment the ride op who kicked the friends out on doing his job. If it seemed like sarcasm, it really wasn't.

Demon: This was a pleasant surprise. We give this one a 9. The tunnels and theming were fun, and it was much smoother with less headbanging than we expected. The two loops and two corkscrews made for a much more fun ride than the Corkscrew at CP.

Vertical Velocity: I rated this 9.5. Gordon, of course, didn't fit, although I think if the ride op had pushed on his restraint, he might have. My first experience on this type of coaster was with Wicked Twister which is a 10 in my book. V2 seemed a little rougher than WT. I thought maybe it was just me, but Ian also agreed it wasn't as smooth as WT. The little stop on the back spike was a shock, and added to the experience, but I still like getting screwed up the rear.

Deja Vu: Definitely worth a 10, but I give it a 9.5 because it only operated 5 hours each day, and waits were horrendous (2.5 hours) due to capacity issues. Bear in mind I won't even wait for Millennium Force more than an hour and that line MOVES consistently. My husband didn't even try due to the max height limit of 75 inches. My son didn't ride with his friends because the wait was at least 2.5 hours from the time it opened until they closed the queue. I waited in line outside the queue for 45 minutes waiting for it to open at noon. Once the queues were opened, I expected to be on in 20 minutes as my position was just before the turn to the right after the covered queue area. It was another 45 minutes from that point. Cycles were running about 4-5 minutes.

I have to admit this is one awesome ride. Because of the drop element from those high towers, I opted to ride in the middle. The pull up the first tower creeped me out (I am not a big drop ride fan due to my fear of heights), and the subsequent drop and twists through the cobra roll and loop were fast and intense. The pull up the back tower didn't bother me as much (looking up isn't as creepy as looking down), and the drop and backward ride through the elements was more fun than the ride through facing forward.

Viper: Unfortunately, I only got one ride on this because the line was almost back to the entrance and the sign said "60 minutes when line is full". What I didn't realize is there was a large queue area that wasn't filled at all. If I'd known that, I would have ridden this woodie several times. Instead, I got one ride after a 10 minute wait around 9:30 pm on Wednesday.

I give this a 9.0 rating. Although short, this woodie provided tons of airtime and lots of positive G's in the twists. I liked the way the tracks ran inside the structure in several places, and because I rode it at night, each twist and turn was a surprise. I think this coaster is underrated. It has some roughness, more than my favorite, Shivering Timbers, but much less than Mean Streak when it was running at it's best.

Giant Drop: I am scared to death of drop rides, and to me, they all rate a 10 if only because of the fear factor. The ONLY reason we rode this is because we purchased fast lane passes, and the rides available on that day were Raging Bull, the Giant Drop, and three that Gordon knew he didn't fit into well or at all (Batman, Iron Wolf and V2). Once again I ask, why the ugly color?! I know they were trying to play on the western theme, but all rusty brown?? Anyway, I almost thought I was getting a reprieve when Gordon couldn't get the restraint down far enough to buckle the belt. But the nice, friendly and burly ride op was able to push down and snap the buckle into place. Drat. I TRIED to keep my eyes open, but closed them halfway up the tower. Fortunately, they don't leave you up there long (like they do with Power Tower), and before I knew it I was rushing, screaming all the way down.

We opted out of the water rides, only because neither of us wanted to walk around in squishy clothes, and although it was warm, it wasn't uncomfortably so. We did ride some of the flats, including Condor, Ricochet, the double carousel, and Trailblazer. Gordon took in the chinese acrobat show while Ian and I rode Raging Bull on Tuesday evening. We caught the Mardis Gras parade and we spent a lot of time just wandering around and taking in the sights and people (as old people tend to do).

My son spent all of Wednesday with his buddies, and told of their experience on the Space Shuttle sim. He said the ride was pretty lame, but he and his friends did a running, sarcastic commentary through the ride, and were even applauded by the other GP on the ride for their efforts.

SFgadvMAN

Corey Lee

Friday, August 9, 2002 11:27 AM

Nice TR, just wondering how big is your husband?

I'm 6'3" with a 48" chest, I will be visiting SFGAm at the end of August. Usually I don't have a problem with most OTSRs but I was wondering if the belts on those that your husband couldn't ride are a little short.

CPLady

Friday, August 9, 2002 11:33 AM

He's a tad over 6'4" with a 48" chest and broad shoulders. It's hard to say whether you will fit or not. All his height is in his body. If your height is in your legs, you might fit okay. I'd at least give it a shot. He was so close to fitting in V2, but the ride op wouldn't push the restraint closed, and he couldn't get it closed enough on his own.

He didn't even attempt Deja Vu with the 75 inch height restriction. Not to mention his back bothers him if he stands for any period of time without moving. There is no way he could have withstood the 90 minute wait I had without being in pain.

chris

Friday, August 9, 2002 11:37 AM

Sorry, I forgot all about the Deja Vu height restriction.

Glad to hear you guys still had a good time, and that is one great TR. One suggestion, though...You may want to re-word that last phrase in the V2 description, as all the sick-o's here (myself included) are about to have a field day! ;)

beast7369

Friday, August 9, 2002 11:51 AM

On V2 the ride ops are not allowed to push down on the restraints usually. If you can have someone else in your party do it for you then thats ok. Food for thought for next time. Last season SFGAm was immaculate almost as if it were a Cedar Fair park. Although this year has been not quite as good. It is far and above most other Six Flags I have been too.

CPLady

Friday, August 9, 2002 12:06 PM

Actually, Chris, that comment is something we picked up from our illustrious webmaster on GTTP. Frankly, I doubt even the sick-o's would make a sick comment if they looked at the first picture I posted. If the fact I'm old enough to be their mother doesn't stop them, one look at my huge hubby might.

beast7369, I thought about trying to push my husband's restraint down on V2, but I don't think CP allows that, and didn't figure SFGAm would either. And as I said, the park was far from dirty. It was primarily in the queues it got nasty. I did notice that the front of the park was as clean as CP is. Overall, it was a nice park. We plan to go back.

CPLady

Friday, August 9, 2002 12:56 PM

Yes, after we were first directed to the fast lane building instead of the pass center on Tuesday. We actually considered upgrading to season passes and making a trip to SFWoA, but decided to wait until next year. We'll likely go back, maybe include it in a drag racing weekend since there is a track about an hour away. By next year we are also hoping to get another trip to Vegas with a side trip to SFMM and Knott as well, so adding a SF pass to our CP pass would come in handy.

jay_rider

Friday, August 9, 2002 1:18 PM

That was a nice TR now it makes me want to go. I was about to comment on that too cause u know there is Junior High kids who will get a kick out of that. I really want to go after reading this trip report and it is really organized.

redman822

nasai

Saturday, August 10, 2002 9:46 AM

It sounds like you had a pretty special time regardless of some problematic rides. I am not quite as tall as your husband, and V² is kind of tight on me too. It also left me with a ton of bruises through the shoulders. Granted, I rode it 5 times during the day, but still.....:)

Definitely plan on a "for sure" trip to Knotts when you come out to Vegas. It is absolutely worth it now. Xcelerator is that good. In fact, just skip Vegas. The coasters are less than satisfactory there anyway. You do need to do the Big Shot, though. I am just like you, but it was amazing. Do it in the day, and put toothpicks in your eyes so you get the view. You don't want to miss it. :):):):):) -------------------- www.tripowered.com

CPLady

Saturday, August 10, 2002 1:54 PM

Krax, Gordon is my husband, and if you looked at the first picture I included in my trip report, you'll see he's not fat, just very tall and hefty. He can ride everything at Cedar Point, except Wicked Twister. He also rode pretty much everything at PKI, including Tomb Raider. That is why we were so surprised he had a hard time fitting into Batman and the Giant Drop. We never really expected he'd fit into V2.

Nasai, we've been going to Vegas for many years, and not just to ride coasters. We've been on all but Speed, because it opened shortly after our last trip there. We haven't hit Desperado yet because we generally fly to Vegas from Detroit, and haven't felt renting a car to head to Primm would be worth it. My husband and son rode Big Shot, but I was way too scared to. Maybe next time.

SFGAm Viper

Saturday, August 10, 2002 10:43 PM

I give this a 9.0 rating. Although short, this woodie provided tons of airtime and lots of positive G's in the twists. I liked the way the tracks ran inside the structure in several places, and because I rode it at night, each twist and turn was a surprise. I think this coaster is underrated. It has some roughness, more than my favorite, Shivering Timbers, but much less than Mean Streak when it was running at it's best.

What roughness? This has to be the smoothest wooden coaster ive been on.

Timbers is rougher, MUCH rougher...and it continues to get more so. Notice all the major retracking ST has had? Viper basically hasnt had any major retracking since its opening in 1995 and look how smooth it is!

CPLady

Sunday, August 11, 2002 5:15 PM

I wonder which Shivering Timbers you were on. I don't believe it's ever had any retracking. Wolverine Wildcat has. I guess since I'm so used to riding Mean Streak, that Timbers feels very smooth to me, except in the trick track area, but that's supposed to whip you back and forth.

Viper is certainly not as rough as either Mean Streak or Wolverine Wildcat, but I still think it's rougher than Timbers. I rode Timbers well over 40 times at Timbersfest this year.